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Cops Corner: Longboat Key

Dec. 24
Where shoplifting is not a pleasure
3:28 p.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway.Larceny. A woman placed a package of fried chicken and a package of sushi in her purse at a grocery store and tried to leave without paying. She turned them over to store personnel and admitted to police to stealing the items. Store management declined to press charges but issued her a trespass warning.

Dec. 26
Broken glass
7:44 a.m. — 500 block of Yawl Lane. Property Damage. A man who cleans pools arrived at a property and noticed the sliding-glass door was shattered. The cleaner called the homeowner, who called police. The home did not appear to have been burglarized, and police could not find an object that could have shattered the glass.

Drunk and drunker6:23 p.m.— 6700 block of GMD. Traffic. A 20-year-old woman failed field sobriety tests and tried to pretend like nothing was in her back seat when police asked her to retrieve a bottle of vodka from her car. Her 20-year-old passenger was lying passed out across the back seat and had thrown up on the driver’s side floorboard. The passenger told a firefighter/paramedic who was called to the scene that she had consumed 20 drinks that afternoon. Police arrested both women for underage alcohol possession and allowed the driver’s mother to take them home.

The smoking gun8:08 p.m. — 700 block of Tarawitt Drive. Fireworks. Police received four calls about explosions going off and rattling home windows. Officers found bits and pieces of fireworks debris that smelled like gunpowder in a driveway. Police had spoken to the homeowner earlier, but the man then refused to speak with police. Police gave him another warning and told him a report would be filed identifying him as being involved with previous incidents.

Dec. 28
Don’t light up
8:38 p.m. — 5100 block of GMD.Fireworks. Police told a man who was about to light a fireworks mortar to stop. The man, who was vacationing from Las Vegas, said that he signed an affidavit when he purchased the fireworks locally but didn’t read it. Police told him they are illegal to use for recreational purposes.

What’s that sound?10:51 p.m. — 600 block of Jessmyth Drive.Disturbance. A man said that noises coming from a home across the canal have been bothering him and his wife every night for the past eight weeks. Police heard a noise similar to the sound of a pool or Jacuzzi pump, but didn’t think it was unusually loud. Police were unable to locate the homeowners.

Dec. 29
Damage control
3:45 p.m. — 5400 block of GMD.Property Damage. A police officer contacted a captain after he bumped his patrol car into another patrol car while backing out of a parking space at the police station. The damage to both vehicles was minor.

Iron gatekeeper11:14 p.m. — 600 block of Bay Isles Parkway.Disturbance. A gate guard refused to let a man enter a property to drop off a car for a homeowner because the owner’s voice message wasn’t specific enough. Police contacted the resident, who explained the situation to the guard, who allowed the man to deliver the car.

Dec. 31
Crossing paths
12:17 p.m. — 500 block of St. Judes Drive.Reckless Driving. A scooter driver followed a car driver to his vacation unit and cursed him out after the driver honked his horn at him. The car driver called police and said that the scooter operator swerved around a car parked in a bike lane, then pulled out into the roadway without warning. The scooter driver also called police and denied swerving around the car, but admitted to following the man and having “a few words.” He apologized.

Carted away3:06 p.m. — 500 block of Bay Isles Parkway.Lost/Missing Property. A woman was grocery shopping and had her wallet, credit cards and driver’s license in her cart. Someone took her cart and left another in its place. Police and store officials couldn’t find the missing items.

Jan. 2
All quiet on the home front
12:13 a.m. — 700 block of Emerald Harbor Drive.Suspicious Circumstance. A man found the rear sliding door of his home open and thought someone could still be inside. Police found no signs of disturbance.

Night vision1:48 a.m. — 700 block of Old Compass Road.Boat. A commercial fisherman was actively fishing but didn’t have his running lights activated. The man said that he didn’t have them on because they interfered with his vision and said that he will turn him on when he is in the nearby channel or near other boats.

Golf cart getaway11:10 a.m. — 700 block of Fox St.Property Damage. An unknown person damaged a man’s water pipe. He pointed out tracks similar to those of a golf cart. The man and his neighbors couldn’t provide any additional information about the golf cart.